HARFLEUR, the Harflew of our older historians, a maritime town of France in the department of Seine Inférieure and arrondissement of Havre, about 6 miles E. of Havre on the railway between that city and Rouen. It lies in the fertile valley of the Lézarde, at the foot of wooded hills not far from the northern bank of the Seine; and the steeple of St Martin’s, 289 feet high, forms an excellent landmark for the pilots of the river. Its old ramparts are now replaced by bleach-works, chemical factories, and other industrial establishments, and the fosses are transformed into vegetable gardens. St Martin’s is the most remarkable building in the town, and ranks as an “historical monument.” It dates from the 15th and 16th centuries, but the great portal is the work of the 17th, and the whole has undergone the process of modern restoration. Of the old castle there are but insignificant ruins, and the present castle, situated in a fine park to the northward, is a building of the 18th century. The hôtel de ville belongs to the 16th. In 1872 the population was only 1966, and though for its size Harfleur is still a busy place with its fishers and traders, it has greatly fallen from its ancient importance....
In the Middle Ages, when its name, Herosfloth, Harofluet, or Hareflot, was still sufficiently uncomιpted to indicate its Norman origin, it was the principal seaport of north-western France. In 1415 it was captured by Henry V. of England, but when in 1435 the people of the district of Caux rose against the English, 104 of the inhabitants opened the gates of the town to the insurgents, and thus got rid of the foreign yoke. The memory of the deed was long perpetuated by the bells of St Martin’s tolling 104 strokes. Between 1445 and 1449 the English were again in possession; but the town was recovered for the French by Dunois. In 1562 the Huguenots put Harfleur to pillage, and its registers and charters perished in the confusion; but its privileges were restored by Charles IX. in 1568, and it was not till 1710 that it was subjected to the “taille.” By common consent Harfleur is now identified with the Caracotinum of the Itinerary of Antoninus,— Μ. Fallue’s explorations since 1839 having proved conclusively that the neighbourhood is rich in Roman remains.
See De La Motte, Antiquitez de la ville de Harfleur, Havre de Grftce, 1677; Letellier, Recherches historiques sur Harfleur, 1841; Μ. Fallue’s papers in Archives du Havre, 1840, Mém. de la Soc. des Antiquaires de la Normandie, and Revue Archéologique, 1856-57; Abbé de Cochet, La Seine Inférieure, Paris, 1864; E. Dumont and A. Léger, Hist, de la ville de Harfleur, 1868.
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